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Needed a New scope for my old GC2 . tried to get my old MK4 in 32 back . but no joy .so thought i would try one of the new Big nikkos .in my ignorance i thought it was the MK111 was the new one . nope it is the MK4 . i advertised for a MK111 and got one . then i realised my mistake ( thought it was cheap ) it focused in the normal manner , unlike the MK4 which focuses backwards . oh well i thought give it a run out on the old GC saturday . so bolted it on and took it down the club . first impressions were mixed , as it was quite hard to turn the sidewheel and at the top end it had a small vibration as you turned the wheel . i like to shoot and range on the lowest mag the scope will do it on . turned out to be 30 mag . zeroed in , no prob . plenty of elevation on the top turret and it went down to 10 yards on 30 mag . when marking up the sidewheel and the turret for ranges and elevation i found that i could hit the 8 yarder by setting 28 yards on the top turret and using the bottom post to aim with , doddle . now to see how it ranged , the important bit . if you cannot see em , you cannot hit em .we have a few quite dark targets one of which is a 55 yarder 50 foot up a tree on the edge of the wood . it has big board behind it to stop pellets leaving the ground . makes it dark and the bright light of the field behind it makes it seem darker . i ranged it three times smack on 55 yards and could see the target clearly . now as simon evans will tell you . big nikos come in all sorts of quality . so i bought this scope blind . not a good idea really . but in this case it would seem i have a good one . by the way the clicks on the top turret are first class and the part of the wheel that had the vibration is not reached in normal use . ??? HOLLY

Holly you silly old duffer as far as im aware there are only three marks of big Nikko not four the original Mk1 has short black turrets, the Mk2 has green turrets but no covers and the Mk3 (the latest version) has green turrets and covers. the Mk1 ranges normally where as the Mks 2 & 3 range backward compared to most scopes. Mine is a Mk3 which i bought new from BAR after cherry picking the best one out of 15 they had in the shop. For what we use scopes for i would put it on a par with my March, cant say fairer than that

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Holly you silly old duffer as far as im aware there are only three marks of big Nikko not four the original Mk1 has short black turrets, the Mk2 has green turrets but no covers and the Mk3 (the latest version) has green turrets and covers. the Mk1 ranges normally where as the Mks 2 & 3 range backward compared to most scopes. Mine is a Mk3 which i bought new from BAR after cherry picking the best one out of 15 they had in the shop. For what we use scopes for i would put it on a par with my March, cant say fairer than that

Old duffer is it ? i was told that the Mk 111 ( large green turrets ) is the last of the large size big nikkos and the high ranges are at the bottom of the sidewheel as normal . The MK1111 is lighter brighter and the sidewheel works the opposite way . high ranges at the top of the wheel . now i don't care either way . very happy with what i have and of course will use it to wop your old bum with when next we meet ??? HOLLY

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then how do you explain the MK111 with the high green turrets and screw on covers with enchanced optics but the same size as the MK2 and a sidewheel that goes the same way as the MK1 and MK11 ??? HOLLY

PS as far as i can see there are 4 different marks ?

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then how do you explain the MK111 with the high green turrets and screw on covers with enchanced optics but the same size as the MK2 and a sidewheel that goes the same way as the MK1 and MK11 ??? HOLLY

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Having said that . whatever mark this is . it is not going anywhere soon . most impressed for the money , only snag is the weight , but on the old GC2 which is really to light for a FT rifle , it is spot on ??? HOLLY

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Have a look on BAR . look at the weight ? it is the same as the old ones . 2.3 pounds . must be a MK111 . so the lighter one . must be a MK4 . or not ??? HOLLY

PS i have one . i thought i was buying the lighter one ?

I wouldn't rely on web sites for weight info but if you have a big nikko that has green screw on turret dust caps and the sidewheel ranges low to high as you turn it clockwise when looking at the wheel then you have something that is quite unusual. I have not seen one in the flesh so they are a rare beast

If it works then stick with it.

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I wouldn't rely on web sites for weight info but if you have a big nikko that has green screw on turret dust caps and the sidewheel ranges low to high as you turn it clockwise when looking at the wheel then you have something that is quite unusual. I have not seen one in the flesh so they are a rare beast

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The scope shown at the top of the reveiw is what I would call a mk3. I bought 2 mk1s the day they came out (from guns international in Barnsley - many years ago) Black turrets and mag ring. I now also own a mk2 - identical to the mk1 apart from the turrets are green and the mag ring is green + the adjustment screw has now gone from the mag ring.

From what Holly is saying - there is a version out there with the dust caps but not like the one shown in the review picture. I am going to have a good look at the euros to see how many mks I can see

I have owned at least 20 Nikkos since they came out (in all 3 marks) and have not yet seen a 4th version.

There is the Big BSA which is obviously not a Nikko but is identical to a MK1 Nikko apart from the ret - it has a thin hair and centre dot instead of a Nato or Mildot.

The guy I travel to shoots with (John Lee) actually services Nikkos and currently owns 8 of them - he must have owned 40+ of them over the years and serviced as many again. He tells me he has never found more than 3 marks.

I was waiting for something like this to happen for years. As it stands Holly got the dearer one not an inflated old mark 2 labelled mark 3. See the problem buy for £280 new have a couple of years use if it lasts that long and flog for price of current mark 4 s/h.

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Interesting really that their should be some doubt about the different marks of these scopes . either way i have a early Big Bsa Platinum and a MK 3/4 ? Big Nikko . i am gonna take em both down the club sunday for a side by side test ??? HOLLY

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There should be some info some where Jan 2004 about a new release Niko.

Dare say quite a few have been caught out seeing the older cheaper green turret sold as the latest at more than bought for new. Similar applies with mark1 and 2, I wont mention the legalities as most people quite rightly wont know unless they had it from new, took the focus assembly out or compared the lens coatings. Just pointing out the implications.

Up to the green turret heavy one which ranges in opposite direction these were distrubuted by ASI.

Cant remember the BSA ret ive slept since but was different. Should do having had a play with quite a few back then and owning a first release.

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The First BSA i had after they had been out a bit was a target dot ret . bought it from uttins . taught me a lesson that did . i was skint at the time and got it on the never never . £ 15 a month , what i did not realise was it went down in price as it went along to £10 and so on . so i ended up paying a lot more in interest than the £ 350 of the scope bought for cash . in answer to the question are we picky . i think we are looking for the edge in scopes . from my point of view i just like to buy rifles and scope to see what they are like . as long as i can sell em on for roughly the same price as i bought em for , no harm done . but the nikko surprised me i will say . the mk 11 i had was a good rangefinder . but optically was dark . so where the three hakkos i had . so this one if it is avearage ( doubtful ) then i can see what all the fuss is about ??? HOLLY

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I'll give you two names Alex you can ask and confirm Saturday, by 2002 both had no less than 9 each at any one time used to buy everything up, try then flog on until 3 yrs ago.

At the time i could get trade price but not worth the risk and drove 260 miles to BAR to choose from 9 laid out in a line. That ended up with mr MTC in 2005.

Cant argue they are good when you find one and as good as anything, these dont come up for sale unless broke.

I have it from horses mouth the shear amount of returns.

Funny you should say that jon . young paul on here did exactly the same thing . drove over to BAR and had them all out on the table to see which was the best .I wonder what the airgun centre would say to that request ??? HOLLY

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Yes very true pieman , try before you buy . i love lupes But you cannot buy a good lupe for nikko money . so if that is all the cash i had . then a carefull look around will get you some decent glass ??? HOLLY

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Tried searching a few forums and can only go back to 2006 on the other one.

One thing i did find out the change wasnt 2004, it was Feb 2005.

There were a lot of variables with those Tasco/Hako, i had a god one April 94 when first came out best scope i ever had until replaced 7 times over! I begged another same age one back in 98 after the worlds and never used.

Theres only one way to buy a Niko/BSA new or old, take the individual scope on its own merit. I bet theres only 2% real good the rest bettered by a T50 in every possible way except overall build on latest.